US History: 4 Areas of Action

Here are 4 areas where you can put truth to action:

1.Think differently. When we begin to understand the development of our country, we can better understand where many of the cultural standards and stereotypes come from. The American necessity to be a MANLY MAN, mock effeminate men or masculine women, shun LGBTQIA2S+ people, scorn expansive thinking, and cling to systems that perpetuate privilege and power while scapegoating people for their gender and sexuality, these are all rooted in our past and the development of our country. And they still play out in our society today.

Being able to see that our oppression is a tool to control society and perpetuate power-over dynamics is an important step. The more we can see through the lies and judgment and what purpose they serve/d, the more room there will be for the truth and for a renewed respect for queer/trans/intersex people in America.

This is what we and all queer/trans/intersex should be internalizing. Truth. Presence. Power.

2.Speak truth. By acknowledging queer/trans/intersex people in US history alongside the popular figures our country focuses on, you begin to dismantle the silence and invisibility our community has endured since our country began. You bring our presence back into awareness. You begin to change history.

It’s not enough to know history, we must also place it in real life, human context.

The people are the ones who made the country–for better or for worse. And we, the people can heal our country from the damaging perspectives and dynamics that created it. It’s not enough to know history, we must also place it in real life, human context. We must include the heart, the body, the spirit, the mind of our ancestors. They were real people negotiating challenging lives because of who they are naturally. Allow the truth of your LGBTQIA2S+ experience to mingle with theirs. Infuse your stories with what it feels like to experience this kind of oppression. Engage your heart when you speak the truth. Allow your humanity to reflect back and bring greater emotional presence to our ancestors’ stories.

3.Interrupt falsehoods. The compulsion to snap US history back to one that does not include queer/trans/intersex people and experience is powerful. Our marginalization is confirmed and enforced from many directions in American society. It takes concerted effort to dismantle our erasure with documentation, and even then our impact, importance and presence can be dismissed as meaningless or worse.

You may find people, even yourself, protecting US history from being revisioned. But the truth is the truth. We have been part of America from the very beginning. Understanding history in relation to our experience changes the way all of US history is seen. And that’s exactly what we need. A change in perspective that includes everyone’s experience, especially those communities most marginalized, LGBTQIA2S+ Americans, African Americans and Native Americans and Mexican Americans.